Recoil-controlling means for guns.



PATENTBD MANQB, 1905.

s. N. MOGLEAN. l REGOIL-GONTROLLING MEANS POR GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED PIE. 19. 1904. BENBWED MAB. 8.1905.

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@mwN-f@ NrTED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

RECOILHCONTROLLING MEANS FOR GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,230, dated March28, 1905.

vOriginal application filed January 26, 1904, Serial No. 190,741.Divided and this application filed February 18, 1904. Renewed March l8,1905. Serial No. 248,966.

To au whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL N. MOGLEAN, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Recoil-Controlling Meansfor Guns, which invention is fully set forth in the followingspecication.

My invention relates to firearms, and more particularly to aconstruction of gun-barrel for utilizing the energy of the powder-gasesto drive the projectile, oppose the recoil, and to control the powderenergies for various other purposes in and about the gun.

The invention isapplicable to all kinds of firearms, including hand andshoulder {irearms, machine-guns, and ordnance.

1n the common gun the powder-gases push the projecti-ley through thebarrel and escape at the muzzle, performing the sole functionv ofdriving the projectile, and the powder energies are dissipated in suchmanner as to -pr'oduce a series of correlated and coacting strains whichare injurious to the gun and its mount, with the associated structure,and involves complex and costly construction of great weight anddiliicult operation, with great danger of breakage and other injuriouseects.

In the present invention thepowder-gases ow into and through a devicewhich controls its energy to oppose recoil, controls the effects of thepowder-blast, steadies the firing action of the gun, reduces the flashand sound, and prevents the injurious effect of the powder energies uponthe gun and its mount or supporting-platform or associated structure.

1n explaining the construction and application of the invention tothecontrol of the recoil of guns it should be understood that the recoilof the gun is due in part to the reaction of the powder-gases betweenthe gun and pro jectile and in part to the reaction of the powder-blastbetween the gun and the' air infront of the gun after the projectileleaves the gun.

It is one object of the present invention to utilize the energy of the'gases in opposition to the recoil and to also lessen the energy ofrecoil by diminishing that part of the recoil due to the reaction of thegases between the gun .and the air in front of the muzzle.

In my application, Serial No. 190,741, filed January 26, 1904, of whichthe present application is a `division, I have shown, described, andgenerically claimed a gun-'barrel having an interior circumferentialgroove or grooves associated with lateral vents, which grooves affordareas of resistance tothe forward flow ofthe gasTcurrent'within thebarrel, and thus oppose the recoil, while the lateral vents serve toreducethe energy of the gas issuing from the guns muzzle, and hencereduce the modicum of recoil due to this cause as well as the injuriousmuzzle-blast. Moreover, by inclinng the vents rearward the vented gasesare caused to react upon the atmosphere,and thereby ofeg effectiveresistance to the recoil.

In the form of the present inventionchosen for illustration' thegun-barrel is provided with a gradually-deepening spiral circumferentialgroove on its interior, associated with a series of lateralrearwardly-inclined Vents so constructed and proportioned that the gasesshall impinge upon the surface of the groove, and thus exert a pull inopposition to to th'e recoil, and after impinging upon such surface thegases will escape in a rearward direction through the vents, theresulting reaction of the vented gases on the air offering a furtheropposition to the recoil. Moreover, this venting of the gases throughthe rearwardly-inclined lateral Vents not only .offers opposition totherecoil in the mann/erv de-v scribed, but also greatly decreases.their quantity, tension, and velocity of movement, and

hence the energy of the 'gases which issue fromA the gnns muzzle, andthereby greatly diminishes that portion of the recoil of the gun due tothe reaction of the gases between the gun and the air in front of thegun. The spiral groove-is preferably formed with a small pitch, so thatits forward-Walls lie' in Y planes substantially normal to the bore ofthe gun--Ja' e., but very slightly inclined there-` to-While the rearwalls are in planes oblique to the guns bore and slanting forward andoutward from the guns bore toward the outer edge of the forward walls ofthe groove. This enables the powdergases to impinge upon the, forwardwalls ofthe groove with its maximum pulling power.

To secure the best results, the area of the vents associated with thegroove should bear such a relation to the area of the resistancesurfaceafforded by the walls of the groove as to secure the desired strikingenergy of the powder-gases on the resistance-surface and the desiredreaction of the gases escaping from the rearwardly-inclined vents and atthe same time obtain the requisite reduction in the quantity. velocity.and intensity of the gases issuing froml the muzzle to minimize the partof the recoil due to this cause. Preferably the area of resistanceoffered by the walls of the spiral groove is arranged so as to graduallyincrease from the rear toward the muzzle, and the area of the ventsassociated with such groove is gradually increased in the same way. Thisgradual increase in the area of the resistance afforded by the groove isobtained by gradually deepening the groove from its rear end forward,the vents associated with the groove gradually increasing incross-sectional area fromthe rear end of the groove forward, so that thedeeper the groove the larger will be the combined cross-sectional areaof the vents associated with any portion thereof. This results not onlyin the required reaction of the gases escaping from the vents to resistthe recoil, but also the reduction of the striking energy of the gaseswhich eventually issue from the muzzle, so that the recoil due to thislatter cause is largely eliminated or, if not eliminated, is reduced toa point where it is easily controlled.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of the muzzle portion of agun-barrel embodying the invention, and Figs. 2 and 3 are crosssectionaldetails illustrating two kinds of oblique lateral vents.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the muzzle portion of a gun-barrel whichmay be integrally formed with or detachably secured to the rest of thegun-barrel, as may be desired. Preferably the forward portion of thegunbarrel has its walls increased in thickness, as'

will be understood from an inspection of Fig.

v 1, until it reaches a point slightly to the rear of the extreme muzzleend of the barrel, where it is again contracted, as shown at 3, so thatthe walls resume their normal thickness. Formed within the thickenedportion of the barrel just mentioned is a spiral groove 10, whichgradually increases in depth from its rearward end, being deepest at itsextreme forward end. The pitch of this groove is very small, so that theforward wall of the groove departs but very little from a plane normaltothe bore of the gun. Associated with the groove is a series of lateralvents 8, said vents preferably increasing in cross-sectional area fromthe rear end of the groove forward. In addition to this increase in thecross-sectional area of the vents the angle of inclination of the ventsto the axis of the gun also gradually increases from the rear forward.This rearward inclination of the vents places them oblique to the axiso'f the gunbarrel. Such Obliquity may be either such as would leave thelateral vents lying wholly within planesradial to the gun-barrel, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, or in radial planes, as shown in Fig. 3.

While, as herein shown, the vents are distributed uniformly along thespiral "circumferential groove, it is not essential that these ventsshould be associated with the entire length of the groove, since theymay, if desired, be omitted from a portion of the groove, for example,as shown at the rear two turns of the groove 'in Fig. 1.

What is claimed is- 1. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove andlateral vents extending through the walls of the barrel from saidgroove.

2. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove and lateralrearwardly-inclined vents extending through the walls of the barrel fromsaid groove.

3. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove gradually increasing indepth from one end to the other, and a series of lateral ventsassociated with said groove the cross-sectional area of the ventsincreasing from one end of the series to the other.

f 4. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove and a series oflateral vents associated with said groove, the cross-sectional area ofthe vents increasing from one end of the series to the other.

5. -A gun-barrel havingV an interior spiral groove and a series oflateral vents associated with said groove said vents being oblique tothe guns axis. T

6. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove and a plurality oflateral vents associated with said groove and symmetricallyarranged-around the barrel.

7. A gunbarrel having a portion of its walls near the muzzleprogressively thickened in a forward direction, and an interiorcircumferential spiral groove gradually increasing in depth in a forwarddirection and located in the said thickened portion of the gun-barrel.

8. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove and a series of lateralvents associated with said groove said vents being inclined rearwardlyat an oblique angle to the axis of 'the clined to such IiOO IIO

gun, the angle of Obliquity increasing from specification in thepresence of two subscribthe rear end of said series forward. ingwitnesses.

9. A gun-barrel having an interior spiral groove and a series OfObliquely-inolined vents leading through the walls ofthe gun fror saidWitnesses: groove. S. T. CAMERON,

1n testimony whereof I have signed this GUSTAVE R. THOMPSON.

SAMUEL N. MOCLEAN.

